This thesis is devoted to the development of new models for a recently-implemented FACTS (flexible alternating current transmission system) device, the unified power flow controller (UPFC), and the control coordination of power systems with FACTS devices in steady-state operating mode. The key objectives of the research reported in the thesis are, through online control coordination based on the models of power systems having FACTS devices, those of maximising the network operational benefit and restoring system static security following a disturbance or contingency. Based on the novel concept of interpreting the updated voltage solutions at each iteration in the Newton-Raphson (NR) power-flow analysis as dynamic variables, the thesis first develops a procedure for representing the unified power flow controllers (UPFCs) in the steady-state evaluation. Both the shunt converter and series converter control systems of a UPFC are modeled in their dynamical form with the discrete time variable replaced by the NR iterative step in the power-flow analysis. The key advantage of the model developed is that of facilitating the process of UPFC constraint resolution during the NR solution sequence. Any relative priority in control functions pre-set in the UPFC controllers is automatically represented in the power-flow formulation. Although the developed UPFC model based on the dynamic simulation of series and shunt converter controllers is flexible and general, the number of NR iterations required for convergence can be large. Therefore, the model is suitable mainly for power system planning and design studies. For online control coordination, the thesis develops the second UPFC model based on nodal voltages. The model retains all of the flexibility and generality of the dynamic simulation-based approach while the number of iterations required for solution convergence is independent of the UPFC controller dynamic responses. Drawing on the constrained optimisation based on Newton’s method together with the new UPFC model expressed in terms of nodal voltages, a systematic and general method for determining optimal reference inputs to UPFCs in steady-state operation is developed. The method is directly applicable to UPFCs operation with a high-level line optimisation control (LOC) for maximising the network operational benefit. By using a new continuation technique with adaptive parameter, the algorithm for solving the constrained optimisation problem extends substantially the region of convergence achieved with the conventional Newton’s method. Having established the foundation provided by the comprehensive models developed for representing power systems with FACTS devices including the UPFC, the research, in the second part, focuses on real-time control coordination of power system controllers, with the main purpose of restoring power system static security following a disturbance or contingency. At present, as the cost of phasor measurement units (PMUs) and wide-area communication network is on the decrease, the research proposes and develops a new secondary voltage control where voltages at all of the load nodes are directly controlled, using measured voltages.

The purpose of the proposed research is to design a Decentralized Voltage/Stability Monitoring and Control System to counteract voltage violations and the impact of disturbances/contingencies on power system voltage stability. A decentralized voltage and stability control system is designed to coordinate the controls of the local secondary voltage control devices and necessary load shedding without requiring information about the rest of the system. The voltage/stability control can be formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem. The control objectives include, but are not limited to: minimization of system active/reactive losses; maximization of the system stability margin; and minimization of the control actions. The constraints of the optimization problem depend on the specifications of the actual system components. For the first time, margin sensitivities of the control actions are included in the control formulation. The concept of using margin sensitivity to evaluate the post-control load margin is presented as a fast and accurate way to assess potential voltage and stability control options. A system decomposition procedure is designed to define the disturbance-affected zone as an independent control subsystem. A normal constraint algorithm is adopted to identify the most suitable control solution in a shorter timeline than the typical utility voltage-control practice. Both steady-state and dynamic simulations are performed to compare the proposed system with typical utility control practices.